Comments on: The Inside Story of America’s Economic Crisis

By: Caveat Emptor

Caveat Emptor — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 10:02:42 +0000

Alice, some auction are by invitations and some can be attended by public. Just goggle “property auctions in singapore”, or some key words, you will find a list of property consultants, like DTZ, CB, etc, etc, having auctions, dates and venue or even photos of the properties.

We should know that complaints are useless. Land cost is more or less determine by gahment and it’s a big part of the price of a property. Selling more land will not solve the problem immediately, and the key question is what is the minimum bid?

What one needs to do is protect yourself, by spending within one’s means. Don’t be greedy or believe things that too good to be true. This is what my family practices. Although we could have afforded a landed property if we want to, we chose not to. We enjoy being debt-free, live in a HDB and owns a car, and a family with no financial worries. I have seen too much of those kind of distress in 1997 and this is a reminder to myself. My inclination when buying property is to take at most 50% loan, preferably back by some liquid equities, bonds, or savings, etc. I’m a bit ks? No, just want to be sure.

Good luck.

By: lioninvestor

lioninvestor — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:52:45 +0000

If you noticed the number of letters appearing in the ST’s forum on this topic recently, the rise in HDB prices has obviously been picked up by the media.

The number of new HDB flats been built has dropped significantly in recent years. This has created an unhealthy situation of excess demand for resale apartments.

By: alice

alice — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:39:05 +0000

the missing quote:
Mah also claimed that the government is subsidizing the cost of the HDB flats and have increased the value of flats already bought by Singaporeans.
“We subsidised you when you buy and we increased the value of your flat when you live in it and… facilitate you to monetise it when you grow old. This is the best form of investment and welfare for the people”, he added.

By: alice

alice — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 03:38:17 +0000

Caveat Emptor,

how can we (public) attend the monthly auction?

it make no sense that hdb price rising in the current market condition – people lost job, pay cut and etc.

quote below was from a recent news article, don’t think MBT or government going to do anything to cool down the market. Not forgetting who are the one who do valuation for hdb

By: Caveat Emptor

Caveat Emptor — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:53:42 +0000

Agreed with VSL, it’s unsustainable. When i was an agent, i have friends coming to me to ask me help sell their hse because they went into negative mortgage and cannot afford the top up. Prices had drop so much, the hse just simply cannot be sold at their asking price. Those who lost their jobs are in danger of facing foreclosure. Just attend the monthly auctions to see how people got into trouble with greed and fear. I’m staying at the sideline to watch what happen down the road.